Argentina economy grew 8.3 pct in June from year ago

Aug 16, 2007 - Argentina's economy grew 8.3 percent in June from a year ago and 0.7 percent from May, beating market expectations and marking the country's 55th straight month of growth, the government said on Thursday.

June's figure for the EMAE economic activity index, which measures most of the elements of gross domestic product, outpaced the 7.5 percent median forecast given by 15 analysts in a Reuters poll.

The higher-than-expected monthly growth came as analysts watch for signs of the impact of the South American country's acute energy shortages, which have led the center-left government to ration natural gas and electricity supplies during the southern hemisphere winter.

"The effect of the energy shortage on the level of economic activity in June was less marked than expected," Buenos Aires-based consultancy Economia and Regions said in a report, adding that strong consumer spending was responsible for the economy's robust expansion in the first half of the year.

Latin America's No. 3 economy grew 8.4 percent in the first six months of 2007 compared with the same period a year ago, the government also reported.

Argentina is in its fifth year of economic growth greater than 8 percent, after a four-year recession. It expanded 8.5 percent in May and 8.8 percent in June 2006.

The official figure confirmed the number that a government source told Reuters earlier on Thursday.